03 Dec 2020 - Daily Current Affairs

Highlights of the Day

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on December 3.
Union Bank of India has completed the IT integration after which all the branches of erstwhile Corporation Bank have come fully under its fold as part of the amalgamation exercise.
Union Bank of India has completed the IT integration after which all the branches of erstwhile Corporation Bank have come fully under its fold as part of the amalgamation exercise.
The Reserve Bank of India has advised HDFC Bank to temporarily stop:
launch of the digital business activities planned under its Digital 2.0 program (to be launched) and
S&P Global Ratings retained its forecast of 9 percent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal, saying even though there are now upside risks to growth but it will wait for more signs that COVID infections have stabilized or fallen.
The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched India’s first indigenously developed ‘100 Octane premium petrol’ through video conferencing on 1st December 2020.
The Deep Depression formed over the southeast and adjoining the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’ over southwest Bay of Bengal.
India has reportedly invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the Chief Guest at Republic Day 2021.
In Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa laid the foundation stone for an 11.5-megawatt power plant based on municipal waste in Bidadi, a town in Bengaluru.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rang the bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), on 2nd December 2020, to mark the listing of bonds of Lucknow Municipal Corporation on the exchange.
An Assam reserve forest, ravaged by militancy, is set to become the state’s sixth national park.
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank have recently signed an agreement under which the bank will provide 50 million USD of loan.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on December 1, 2020, passed the AP Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2020 through a voice vote, banning online gaming in the state.
In the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020, India has been ranked at 8th spot globally in the list of countries most affected by terrorism in 2019.
The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released the annual ranking of police Stations in India.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have inked a $50 million policy-based loan agreement on 2nd December 2020 to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies in West Bengal.
The Ministry of External Affairs informed that the 7th India-Suriname Joint Commission Meeting was held virtually by both the nations on December 2, 2020.
Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary has been appointed as the 27th Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
American entrepreneur Frank Carney, who along with his brother Dan, started the Pizza Hut empire in the US city of Wichita, has passed away from pneumonia.
Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the former President of France has passed away at the age of 94, from the complications of coronavirus.
Mahashay’ Dharampal Gulati, the owner of spices company ‘Mahashian Di Hatti’, popularly known as MDH, has passed away after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities observed on 03 December

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on December 3.
The IDPWD day was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Aim: To promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic, and cultural life.
2020 theme: ‘Not all Disabilities are Visible’

Union Bank Completes Integration of All Branches of Corporation Bank with Itself

Union Bank of India has completed the IT integration after which all the branches of erstwhile Corporation Bank have come fully under its fold as part of the amalgamation exercise.
With this IT integration, all of erstwhile Corporation Bank, including service and specialized branches, has been fully integrated with Union Bank of India (UBI).
Along with this feat, the bank has successfully rolled out internet banking, mobile banking, UPI, IMPS, FI gateway, treasury, and Swift for erstwhile Corporation Bank customers thereby enabling them to transact seamlessly across branches and delivery channels of UBI.

RBI directs HDFC bank to stop issuance of new credit cards

The Reserve Bank of India has advised HDFC Bank to temporarily stop:

launch of the digital business activities planned under its Digital 2.0 program (to be launched) and
issue of new credit cards to customers
This step has been taken by RBI because of repeated outages in the HDFC bank’s internet banking/ mobile banking/ payment utilities over the past two years.
The latest such event occurred on November 21, 2020. The reason given by HDFC bank for this was a power failure in its primary data center.
RBI in its order to HDFC bank has advised the Bank’s Board to examines the lapses and fixes accountability.

S&P Retains India’s Growth Forecast at (-)9 percent This Fiscal

S&P Global Ratings retained its forecast of 9 percent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal, saying even though there are now upside risks to growth but it will wait for more signs that COVID infections have stabilized or fallen.
S&P, in its report on the Asia Pacific, projected the Indian economy to grow at 10 percent in the next fiscal.
While there are now upside risks to growth due to a faster recovery in population mobility and household spending, the pandemic is not fully under control.

IOCL launches India’s first 100 Octane Premium Petrol

The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched India’s first indigenously developed ‘100 Octane premium petrol’ through video conferencing on 1st December 2020.
The high-octane premium grade petrol will be marketed under the brand ‘XP-100’.
It has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh.
XP-100 will be made available in a phased manner across the country and in the first phase, it will be made available in 10 cities.
The cities are Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Agra, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad.

Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’ lay centered over southwest Bay of Bengal

The Deep Depression formed over the southeast and adjoining the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi’ over southwest Bay of Bengal.
It is about 240 km east-southeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 470 km east-southeast of Pamban (Tamil Nadu), and 650 km nearly east-northeast of Kanniyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
The name of Cyclone ‘Burevi’ (बुरेवि), has been contributed by the Maldives.
This is the second cyclone formed in the southwest region of the Bay of Bengal within a week.
Cyclone Alerts have been issued for South Tamilnadu and South Kerala coasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

UK PM Boris Johnson expected to be Chief Guest at Republic Day 2021

India has reportedly invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to be the Chief Guest at Republic Day 2021.
The invite was reportedly extended to the UK PM during his phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.
PM Modi had held a phone call with Boris Johnson on November 27 to discuss issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change among other things.

Karnataka’s first 11.5-megawatt power plant run on municipal waste being set up at Bidadi

In Karnataka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa laid the foundation stone for an 11.5-megawatt power plant based on municipal waste in Bidadi, a town in Bengaluru.
It is the first of its kind power plant in the state being set up by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) and will help in converting 600 tonnes of municipal waste into 11.5-megawatt energy.
This power plant will add 80.59 million units of power to the existing power grid.
The power plant project is being constructed for Rs. 260 crores and is likely to be operational by 2022.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath rings the bell at BSE for listing Lucknow Municipal Corporation bonds

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rang the bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), on 2nd December 2020, to mark the listing of bonds of Lucknow Municipal Corporation on the exchange.
The bonds of LMC were launched on November 13, with a coupon rate of 8.5 percent and had a tenure of 10 years. The issuance had garnered 4.5 times subscription.
Lucknow is the ninth city in India and the first from UP, to have raised municipal bonds for fundraising.
It is also the first city to issue municipal bonds after the launch of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.
Also, Lucknow Municipal Corporation is the first civic body from North India to issue bonds on BSE.
The funds raised through the bond will be invested in various infrastructure schemes, being implemented under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Scheme, in Lucknow.
Ghaziabad will be the next city of the state to issue a municipal bond and it will be followed by Pragyaraj, Varanasi, Agra, and Kanpur.

Assam set to get its sixth national park

An Assam reserve forest, ravaged by militancy, is set to become the state’s sixth national park.
The state government has proposed to upgrade the 422-sq km Ripu Reserve Forest in the Kokrajhar district.
The area of the proposed Raimona National Park lies within the Ripu Reserve Forest that has a history of one of the best scientifically-managed forests in the country during the late 19th century.
The area comprises the highest biodiverse floristic composition of the state wherein as many as 11 different forest types and sub-types could be classified.

West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank have recently signed an agreement under which the bank will provide 50 million USD of loan.
It is a policy-based loan.
The loan is to be utilized to improve financial management procedures, promote informed decision making, improve operational efficiencies that aim at achieving more financial savings, and improve service delivery in the state of West Bengal.
Basically, the funding is to be used to implement the West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme.
The program will integrate the financial information systems of the state.
This will help to improve the delivery of public services and generate physical savings. Ultimately the integration will help the state to augment its finances.
The program will provide support to interoperable government platforms.

Andhra Pradesh passes bill banning online games

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on December 1, 2020, passed the AP Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2020 through a voice vote, banning online gaming in the state.
the bill was brought in after some youngsters in the state committed suicide after being pushed into debt by playing online games.
The state’s Home Minister M Sucharita informed that the AP Gaming Act, 1974 was being amended to bring online gaming into its purview.

India Ranks 8th and Afghanistan Tops Global Terrorism Index 2020

In the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020, India has been ranked at 8th spot globally in the list of countries most affected by terrorism in 2019.
The GTI score of India is 7.353 out of 10.
With a score of 9.592, Afghanistan has topped the index as the worst terror impacted nation among the 163 countries.
It is followed by Iraq (8.682) and Nigeria (8.314) at second and third place respectively.
Regionally, South Asia was the most impacted region by terrorism in 2019, recording more deaths than any other region.
Also, globally the deaths caused due to terrorism fell by 15 percent to 13,286 in 2019 over 2018.

Annual Ranking of Police Stations

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released the annual ranking of police Stations in India.
The annual ranking is being done since 2015.
Nongpok Sekmai police station in the Thoubal district of Manipur was ranked as the best performing police station in the country.
The All Women Police Station of Suramangalam in Salem city of Tamilnadu was ranked second in the list
Kharsangh police station of Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh ranked third.

ADB and India sign $50 million loan agreement to boost digital platforms for public finance reforms in West Bengal

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have inked a $50 million policy-based loan agreement on 2nd December 2020 to improve financial management procedures and operational efficiencies in West Bengal.
Titled as the ‘West Bengal Public Finance Management Investment Programme’, the project will help to achieve more fiscal savings, promote informed decision making, and improve service delivery in the state.
A center for fiscal policy and public finance will be established to deepen the capacity of the state government officials on public finance management while developing a web-based grievance redress system for transport corporations and urban local bodies will provide a credible citizen-government interface.

India, Suriname virtually hold 7th Joint Commission Meeting to review bilateral ties

The Ministry of External Affairs informed that the 7th India-Suriname Joint Commission Meeting was held virtually by both the nations on December 2, 2020.
During the meet, both sides discussed the significance of the mechanism in reviewing bilateral ties, deepening political dialogue, and exchanging views on multilateral and regional cooperation.
The virtual meeting was co-chaired by V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of the Republic of Suriname, Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin.

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary takes charge as new Director-General of BRO

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary has been appointed as the 27th Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
His appointment is effective from 1st December 2020.
Lt Gen Chaudhary succeeds Lt Gen Harpal Singh who has been appointed as the new Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army.
The BRO is responsible for the construction and maintenance of all border roads including those along the frontiers with China and Pakistan.

Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney passes away from pneumonia at 82

American entrepreneur Frank Carney, who along with his brother Dan, started the Pizza Hut empire in the US city of Wichita, has passed away from pneumonia. He was 82.
Carney had recently recovered from Covid-19 but had Alzheimer’s disease for more than a decade and pneumonia is common in Alzheimer’s patients.
Frank Carney was a 19-year-old student at Wichita State University when he and his 26-year-old brother, Dan, started the pizza business in 1958 after borrowing $600 from their mother.
In 1977, PepsiCo bought Pizza Hut for $300 million.

Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing passes away of coronavirus at 94

Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the former President of France has passed away at the age of 94, from the complications of coronavirus.
Giscard had served as the third president of the Republic of France from 1974 to 1981.

MDH Spices owner Mahashay Dharampal Gulati passes away at 98

‘Mahashay’ Dharampal Gulati, the owner of spices company ‘Mahashian Di Hatti’, popularly known as MDH, has passed away after he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was 98.
Gulati was known as the ‘‘The king of spices”, and fondly called ‘dalaji’ and ‘Mahashayji’ by his near and dear ones.
Dharampal Gulati was born in 1923 in Sialkot, Pakistan, and moved to India after partition in 1947.
He officially established his company in 1959 and MDH now has more than 60 products.
Gulati was honored with the third highest civilian award, ‘Padma Bhushan’, in 2019.

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